Groovy, moddish, magnificent and sunny girl pop from The Land Of The Rising Sun – pummeling drums, jumping arrangements and groovy vocals from the mid-to-late 60s Japanese scene! This is fantastic stuff, any kitch or novelty appeal you might be expecting is kind of muted by the exceptional quality and excellent performances – but it is flat out fun! As the title states, strains of pop, beat & bossa – plus mod & psychedelic fuzz – and the vocals girl group vocals are bright, rocking, playful or sultry or innocent depending on the groove! 25 tracks in all: "Black Room by Jun Mayuzumi, Sharock No 1" by Mie Nakao, "Nagisa No Tenshi" by Mieko Hirota, "Hatsu Koi No Letter" by Miki Obata, "Bazazz Tengoku" by The Cupids, "Aeba Suki Suki" by Margaret With Bunnys, "Nukui Aitsu" by Mika Nohira, "Kiiro No Sekai" by J Girls and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic collection that looks at the relationship between American soul and reggae in a very unique way – not the early crossovers of soul and rocksteady in the 60s, but a big wave of disco-inspired sounds in the 70s! The set brings together some great Jamaican and British versions of American club tracks from the late 70s and early 80s, plus some soul cuts from earlier years – often done with rhythms that are slower and more bad-stepping, in a true reggae mode – but with songs and lyrics that are lifted right from bit hits by artists like Chaka Khan, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, and others! The mix of modes is wonderful – and maybe comes across even better than on some of the Afro disco records of the period – thanks to a great track selection, in the usual Soul Jazz standard. Titles include "I'm Every Woman" by Latisha, "In The Rain" by rRnest Ranglin, "Reggae Beat Goes On" by Family Choice, "Ring My Bell" by Blood Sisters, "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" by Derrick Laro & Trinity, "Do It Nice & Easy" by Chariot Riders, "Don't Let It Go To Your Head" by Black Harmony, "Upside Down" by Carol Cool, "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" by Sharon Forrester, "Rappers Delight" by Xanadu & Sweet Lady, "Ain't No Stopping Us Now" by Risco Connection, "Am I The Same Girl" by Charmaine Burnette, and "Be Thankful For What You Got" by One Blood. (Reggae, Funky Compilations) LP, Vinyl record album

A really great collection of jazzy groovers – one that effortlessly combines older material and newer recordings, all with a great ear that never tires in its pursuit of the groove! The blend of old and new is a bit like some of the collections we used to love from Gilles Peterson back in the last century – but Paul Murphy definitely has his own style and way of choosing a tune, and like Peterson, he has a great way of setting a new sort of fire with jazz – one that will burn strongly for generations to come! Titles include "Yatra-Ta" by Terje Terasmaa, "African Mailman" by Rhythmagic Orchestra, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Blue Mode, "Foot In The Door" by Onward International, "Zombie" by Art Ensemble Of Chicago, "Emnete (live)" by Imperial Tiger Orchestra, "4 Beat Cha Cha Cha" by Lucas Van Merwijk & His Cubop City Big Band, "Tribute To Mulatu" by Patchworks, "Koumba Fri Fri" by Mamelon, "Sorrow Tears & Blood" by Shola Adisa Farrar & Florian Pellissier Quartet, and "Mambo De La Pinta" by Art Pepper. LP, Vinyl record album

A massive batch of rare club tracks unearthed by Chicago's Past Due label, packaged together wonderfully as a document of a lost side of soul and disco! So far, Past Due's efforts have only surfaced as expensive 12" singles – so this collection is the first full length set to showcase the label's music – a treasure trove of under-discovered gems from the indie soul underground of the late 70s and early 80s! The music is to the far left of some of the better-known club work from the east coast of the time – including that of P&P Records – and most cuts here almost fall more in the upbeat funk mode than conventional disco grooves you'd find on bigger labels. Most numbers groove along in a wave of bumping bass, sweet keyboards, and other hip instrumental touches – and vocals are usually deep and soulful, much more so than in ordinary club. Titles include "Galaxy" by Visions Of Tomorrow, "Midnight Rhythm" by The Right Direction, "The Heat Is On" by Lonnie Givens, "Get Up Get Down & Let Your Body Pop" by Greyship Daviz, "Dance" by Destiny In Time Band, "Party" by Monofide, "Kiss You Everywhere" and "You Are Number One" by Devarne, "You Bring Out The Best In Me" by Destiny In Time, and "If You Like What We're Doing" by The Fabulous Kings. LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent collection of rare soul tracks from the 60s – a set that's billed with a "Northern Soul" title – but which is pretty darn great for any fans of upbeat and very groovy soul! Many of the cuts here never broke big back in the day, but were discovered and brought back strongly by soul collectors in more recent decades – mixed together here with a few classics, all for a set list that's overflowing with gems from Motown, Chess, and other classic labels! Titles include "Wade In The Water" by Marlena Shaw, "Breakin Down The Walls Of Heartache" by Johnny Johnson & The Bandwagon, "Time Will Pass You By" by Tobi Legend, "I Got A Feeling" by Barbara Randolph, "Blowin Up My Mind" by The Exciters, "The Night" by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, "There's A Ghost In My House" by R Dean Taylor, "Do I Love You" by Frank Wilson, "Heaven Must Have Sent You" by The Elgins, "Tainted Love" by Gloria Jones, "He Who Picks A Rose" by Jimmy Ruffin, "This Love Starved Heart Of Mine" by Marvin Gaye, "Wear It On Our Face" by The Dells, "Ordinary Joe" by Terry Callier, "Why Am I Lovin You" by Debbie Dean, and "Love Love Love" by Bobby Hebb. (Soul, Funky Compilations) LP, Vinyl record album

Brilliant funky instrumentals from the UK Cavendish Sound Library – a company who could sometimes recorded more staid music, although that certainly wasn't the case with the gems on this collection! The music is by a handful of British studio talents of the time – most of whom come from the jazz scene in earlier years – and provide a great update of their earlier talents with some very sweet electric touches! Many of these tunes have some really great keyboards – Fender Rhodes or even moogier elements – and many also have wicked basslines next to the funky drums, which really make things kick throughout. These tunes are vastly undiscovered – at least in comparison to better-known sound library funk from companies like KPM or DeWolfe – but we'd put these grooves right up there with the best of that bunch too. Titles include "Night Shade", "The Rally", "Southbound", "Snowmobile", "Night Driver", "The Trackers", and "Lady Killers" by Dennis Farnon; "Milky Way" and "Star Voyage" by John Scott; "Two Bars" and "The Scape Goat" by Pete Moore; "The Big Score" by John Cacavas, "One Way Trip" by Sam Fonteyn, "Smile Of A Stranger" by Dominic Sands, "Riff Raff" by Geoff Bastow, "Come Cuban" by Edward White, and "Kaleidoscope" by Tony Kinsey. (Sound Library, Funky Compilations) LP, Vinyl record album